Celebrating 60 Years as a New York Ranger Fan

[bobbop]

November 1, 1959 is the date of my first and grandest Ranger hockey memory.

I was all of 7 1/2 years old and on this Sunday school night I was in bed with my radio listening to the New York Rangers. The Rangers were playing the Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadians and I had recently discovered hockey on radio. It was near my bed time but I’m sure I intended to listen for at least a period. Jim Gordon, who became all-time favorite hockey announcer, was calling the game.

Early in the game, the unthinkable happened.

Andy Bathgate, the star of the New York Rangers lifted a backhand shot into the unprotected face of Montreal goaltender Jacques Plante. Plante was badly cut and left the ice for repairs. In this era, National League teams only carried one goaltender. If a netminder was injured, the game was stopped until the player could be stitched up. If the goaltender could not continue, a house goaltender (usually an amateur player) or a team trainer would be pressed into action.

Plante was hockey’s premier goaltender of the 1950s. He was coming off his 4th straight Stanley Cup championship (heading towards his 5th) and his play had revolutionized the game. He was also eccentric and moody. And he was about to change the game in a way he could never imagine.

Plante had been practicing with a mask and had vowed to start wearing it in games. Montreal coach Toe Blake was adamantly opposed to Plante’s mask. On this night though, Plante said he would not return to the game without his protective mask. Blake objected, but eventually relented. Jacques Plante was about to become the first goaltender to wear a full face mask in a National Hockey League game.

Back in my bedroom, I was listening intently as Gordon was talking about the historical significance of what was happening. I didn’t know that much about hockey or masks but I did know enough to realize that the first goaltender ever to wear a mask in a game was a big deal. Big enough to yell to my dad that he needed to come upstairs right away.

My father loved hockey. He grew up in Brooklyn and played high school hockey. He was also a short track speed skater and had won a number of medals in Silver Skates competition at Madison Square Garden. His love of hockey and the Rangers is how I was exposed to the game at such a young age and came to be such a passionate fan.

Dad came up and sat on the end of my bed as we listened to history being made. My father was a big talker and what I remember is that on this night is how quiet he was. Reflecting back, I know that it was surely important.

Plante, repaired with 7 stitches and still wearing his bloody jersey came back and played. And he played well. The Canadians built a 3-0 lead and long after I fell asleep; he gave up a meaningless goal to Camille Henry. Hockey had been changed forever.

In the succeeding years, simple flat face protectors soon gave away to oversized masks that protected much more of the head and throat area. Ultimately, the form fitting mask was phased out in favor of today’s helmet mask that covers the goaltenders entire head and allows them excellent vision through a caged eye opening.

Over the next 15 years, every goaltender in the league began to wear a mask. On April 7, 1974, Andy Brown was the last NHL goaltender to appear in a game without a mask. Now the thought of playing goal without a mask is incomprehensible.

At the time, I didn’t know enough about hockey to understand what this all meant or how it would change the game forever. But what I do remember is what I said to my father when Plante came back wearing the mask. I told my father “The Rangers (who were a very bad team in the late 1950s) are going to win for sure” or something close to that. He replied, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that”.

Click to read more...

 

[Machinehead]

My condolences.

 

[Machinehead]

That is a cool story though.

 

[cwede]

Jim Gordon was calling a game in '59?

anyway, i can relate, i am only a few years behind you,
got to games every year with family, beginning at old Garden, we got seasons in '71, I let 'em go after '18


added note: from Wikipedia
"
Jim Gordon (sportscaster) - Wikipedia
...
Gordon began calling New York sporting events when he was hired by Madison Square Garden in 1955 to be the radio voice of the Rangers and Knicks. He worked in those capacities on-and-off in both radio and television over the next three decades, occasionally alternating with other New York sportscasters like Marty Glickman, Les Keiter, Bob Wolff, Win Elliot, Tim Ryan, Don Criqui and Marv Albert.
...


i mostly remember Gordon on TV w Chadwick, while radio was Wolff, Elliot but mostly Marv ...

 

[Fugazy]

Very cool story! I hope your next phase of fandom results in a little more success

 

[eco's bones]

November 1, 1959 is the date of my first and grandest Ranger hockey memory.

I was all of 7 1/2 years old and on this Sunday school night I was in bed with my radio listening to the New York Rangers. The Rangers were playing the Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadians and I had recently discovered hockey on radio. It was near my bed time but I’m sure I intended to listen for at least a period. Jim Gordon, who became all-time favorite hockey announcer, was calling the game.

Early in the game, the unthinkable happened.

Andy Bathgate, the star of the New York Rangers lifted a backhand shot into the unprotected face of Montreal goaltender Jacques Plante. Plante was badly cut and left the ice for repairs. In this era, National League teams only carried one goaltender. If a netminder was injured, the game was stopped until the player could be stitched up. If the goaltender could not continue, a house goaltender (usually an amateur player) or a team trainer would be pressed into action.

Plante was hockey’s premier goaltender of the 1950s. He was coming off his 4th straight Stanley Cup championship (heading towards his 5th) and his play had revolutionized the game. He was also eccentric and moody. And he was about to change the game in a way he could never imagine.

Plante had been practicing with a mask and had vowed to start wearing it in games. Montreal coach Toe Blake was adamantly opposed to Plante’s mask. On this night though, Plante said he would not return to the game without his protective mask. Blake objected, but eventually relented. Jacques Plante was about to become the first goaltender to wear a full face mask in a National Hockey League game.

Back in my bedroom, I was listening intently as Gordon was talking about the historical significance of what was happening. I didn’t know that much about hockey or masks but I did know enough to realize that the first goaltender ever to wear a mask in a game was a big deal. Big enough to yell to my dad that he needed to come upstairs right away.

My father loved hockey. He grew up in Brooklyn and played high school hockey. He was also a short track speed skater and had won a number of medals in Silver Skates competition at Madison Square Garden. His love of hockey and the Rangers is how I was exposed to the game at such a young age and came to be such a passionate fan.

Dad came up and sat on the end of my bed as we listened to history being made. My father was a big talker and what I remember is that on this night is how quiet he was. Reflecting back, I know that it was surely important.

Plante, repaired with 7 stitches and still wearing his bloody jersey came back and played. And he played well. The Canadians built a 3-0 lead and long after I fell asleep; he gave up a meaningless goal to Camille Henry. Hockey had been changed forever.

In the succeeding years, simple flat face protectors soon gave away to oversized masks that protected much more of the head and throat area. Ultimately, the form fitting mask was phased out in favor of today’s helmet mask that covers the goaltenders entire head and allows them excellent vision through a caged eye opening.

Over the next 15 years, every goaltender in the league began to wear a mask. On April 7, 1974, Andy Brown was the last NHL goaltender to appear in a game without a mask. Now the thought of playing goal without a mask is incomprehensible.

At the time, I didn’t know enough about hockey to understand what this all meant or how it would change the game forever. But what I do remember is what I said to my father when Plante came back wearing the mask. I told my father “The Rangers (who were a very bad team in the late 1950s) are going to win for sure” or something close to that. He replied, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that”.

Mine would have been March 1, 1972 and I would have been 14 at the time--that was a radio broadcast of Marv Albert and Sal Messina. A friend of mine then was a Rangers fan and I'd just started playing street hockey. He's the one though who started my love affair with the Rangers. It would be another couple years before I started skating and playing ice hockey. It's not a hard one to remember--I remember turning on the game somewhere in the middle of the game and the big thing that happened that night wasn't the Rangers beating the Seals but Jean Ratelle (who was neck and neck with Phil Esposito for the league scoring lead) breaking his leg--so I brought some bad luck with me. The Rangers might have gone all the way that year--Ratelle finally did make it back into the lineup in the Stanley Cup finals between the Rangers and the Bruins (which went to six games) but he wasn't close to 100% and he wasn't much of a factor. The Rangers were a really solid team that year but take away the clearly best center of any team and it's going to hurt. So I'm working on my 48th year as a Rangers fan. It's weird in a way that your first game like mine turns on a significant and remarked injury in NHL history.

 

[nyr2k2]

Thanks for sharing, Bob, and congrats.

I'm coming up on 30 years of fandom. Not sure I'm proud of it.

 

[eco's bones]

This thread brings to mind this. I use to have this LP:

 

[Clark Kellogg]

Jim Gordon was calling a game in '59?

anyway, i can relate, i am only a few years behind you,
got to games every year with family, beginning at old Garden, we got seasons in '71, I let 'em go after '18


added note: from Wikipedia
"
Jim Gordon (sportscaster) - Wikipedia
...
Gordon began calling New York sporting events when he was hired by Madison Square Garden in 1955 to be the radio voice of the Rangers and Knicks. He worked in those capacities on-and-off in both radio and television over the next three decades, occasionally alternating with other New York sportscasters like Marty Glickman, Les Keiter, Bob Wolff, Win Elliot, Tim Ryan, Don Criqui and Marv Albert.
...


i mostly remember Gordon on TV w Chadwick, while radio was Wolff, Elliot but mostly Marv ...

I liked listening to and watching Jim Gordon. People made fun of him because of the three minute egg timer. But I thought it was great because whenever you would tune in you wouldn’t have to wait too long before you knew the score.

 

[Clark Kellogg]

Congratulations Bob!

 

[bobbop]

Jim Gordon was calling a game in '59?

anyway, i can relate, i am only a few years behind you,
got to games every year with family, beginning at old Garden, we got seasons in '71, I let 'em go after '18


added note: from Wikipedia
"
Jim Gordon (sportscaster) - Wikipedia
...
Gordon began calling New York sporting events when he was hired by Madison Square Garden in 1955 to be the radio voice of the Rangers and Knicks. He worked in those capacities on-and-off in both radio and television over the next three decades, occasionally alternating with other New York sportscasters like Marty Glickman, Les Keiter, Bob Wolff, Win Elliot, Tim Ryan, Don Criqui and Marv Albert.
...


i mostly remember Gordon on TV w Chadwick, while radio was Wolff, Elliot but mostly Marv ...

I loved listening to Jim Gordon. My favorite JG call was “Three on two if they hurry”. Jim was one of my inspirations to attend Syracuse University and I had the chance to meet him on several occasions. I loved talking about the Rangers with him and some of the details in my story (e.g. backhand not a slap shot) came directly from Jim.

 

[Cag29]

Mine would have been March 1, 1972 and I would have been 14 at the time--that was a radio broadcast of Marv Albert and Sal Messina. A friend of mine then was a Rangers fan and I'd just started playing street hockey. He's the one though who started my love affair with the Rangers. It would be another couple years before I started skating and playing ice hockey. It's not a hard one to remember--I remember turning on the game somewhere in the middle of the game and the big thing that happened that night wasn't the Rangers beating the Seals but Jean Ratelle (who was neck and neck with Phil Esposito for the league scoring lead) breaking his leg--so I brought some bad luck with me. The Rangers might have gone all the way that year--Ratelle finally did make it back into the lineup in the Stanley Cup finals between the Rangers and the Bruins (which went to six games) but he wasn't close to 100% and he wasn't much of a factor. The Rangers were a really solid team that year but take away the clearly best center of any team and it's going to hurt. So I'm working on my 48th year as a Rangers fan. It's weird in a way that your first game like mine turns on a significant and remarked injury in NHL history.

That’s awesome. I’ve been watching /listening since 1975. My dad brought me and my brothers into it. I always remember him saying that we would have beaten Boston for the cup in 72? If Ratelle hadn’t been injured. That’s also why I’m ok with the rebuild. If we have a few more bad seasons and it leads to high picks that work out for us and we contend and hopefully win a cup or two.

 

[Ghost of jas]

Thank you for making everyone aware that I’m not the oldest poster on this board. (I’m looking at you, @ZuccsFluffierFluffer and @MikaIsGod.)

 

[bobbop]

Thank you for making everyone aware that I’m not the oldest poster on this board. (I’m looking at you, @ZuccsFluffierFluffer and @MikaIsGod.)

I think @alkurtz has a few years on both of us

 

[Fitzy]

My condolences.

Okay zoomer.

 

[Machinehead]

Okay zoomer.

Not even close, buddy.

I wish.

 

[Boris Zubov]

Thanks for telling your story Bob.

My earliest memories of watching the Rangers was in the '79 SC Finals as an 8 year old....the OT loss in game 4. My first of many disappointing moments following this team.

IMO Jim Gordon is one of the most underappreciated NYC sportscasters ever. He was great for the Rangers & maybe even better for the Giants on the radio. His voice is synonymous with the first two NYG Superbowls in the Parcells era. Gordon & Dick Lynch, & then later when Karl Nelson joined them was as good as it gets & as good as it will ever be for NFL play by play.

We were truly spoiled in the 70s, 80s & early 90s in New York City sports. Marv Albert, Bob Murphy, Gary Thorne, Tim McCarver, Jim Gordon, Sal Messina, John Davidson, Bill White, Phil Rizzutto, Frank Messer, Marty Glickman, Sam Rosen, Mike Emerick(he did NYR radio for a brief time). Even guys who aren't as well remembered like Spencer Ross, Ken "Hawk" Harrelson, Steve Zabriskie, & Dewayne Stats were fantastic.

 

[eco's bones]

That’s awesome. I’ve been watching /listening since 1975. My dad brought me and my brothers into it. I always remember him saying that we would have beaten Boston for the cup in 72? If Ratelle hadn’t been injured. That’s also why I’m ok with the rebuild. If we have a few more bad seasons and it leads to high picks that work out for us and we contend and hopefully win a cup or two.

Phil Goyette (for the most part) took over for Ratelle when he was out injured centering the line between Gilbert and Hadfield. Rangers lines back then were pretty stable. The 71-72 season the lines were Ratelle/Gilbert/ Hadfield---Tkachuk/Fairbarin/Gene Carr (who came over early in the year from St. Louis--Chadwick use to say that Carr 'couldn't put the puck in the ocean if he were standing on the end of a pier'--I don't think Chadwick liked Carr's long blonde hair) Stemkowski/Bruce MacGregor/Ted Irvine--after that Bobby Rousseau (a nifty player who always played first unit on the power play from the point with Brad Park), Glen Sather, Goyette, Ron Stewart---both Sather and Stewart go on to briefly coach the Rangers and of course Slats was our GM for quite a while and now holds an executive position with the team. Stewart is also known for getting into a fight that led to the death of teammate Terry Sawchuk who he roomed with.

The defense pairs that year were--Park/Dal Rolfe--Rod Seiling/Jim Nielson and then Ab Demarco or Gary Doak. If I'm remember correctly you could only dress 17 skaters and 2 goalies back then. Goalies were Ed Giacomin and Gilles Villemure. Villemure use to relax over the summer by racing horses professionally.

 

[E-Train]

Great stuff Bob! I became a fan late in the ‘80-‘81 season, had an Islander poster in my room but was converted by a big Ranger fan.

 

[FIRE DRURY]

Thanks for sharing Bob. Great read.

 

[NCRanger]

Thanks for telling your story Bob.

My earliest memories of watching the Rangers was in the '79 SC Finals as an 8 year old....the OT loss in game 4. My first of many disappointing moments following this team.

IMO Jim Gordon is one of the most underappreciated NYC sportscasters ever. He was great for the Rangers & maybe even better for the Giants on the radio. His voice is synonymous with the first two NYG Superbowls in the Parcells era. Gordon & Dick Lynch, & then later when Karl Nelson joined them was as good as it gets & as good as it will ever be for NFL play by play.

We were truly spoiled in the 70s, 80s & early 90s in New York City sports. Marv Albert, Bob Murphy, Gary Thorne, Tim McCarver, Jim Gordon, Sal Messina, John Davidson, Bill White, Phil Rizzutto, Frank Messer, Marty Glickman, Sam Rosen, Mike Emerick(he did NYR radio for a brief time). Even guys who aren't as well remembered like Spencer Ross, Ken "Hawk" Harrelson, Steve Zabriskie, & Dewayne Stats were fantastic.

Basically the same with me. I do remember watching some games with my father earlier than that. I remember the logo crest jerseys.

My uncle had season tickets, and took me to my first game in December 1979 against the Flyers. Game ended 1-1. Steve Baker played goal.

Been a fan for at least 40 years.

Thorne, McCarver, and Emrick were a whole lot better when they were covering local NY teams than when they went national.

DeWayne Staats is still broadcasting Tampa Rays games.

 

[Ghost of jas]

I think @alkurtz has a few years on both of us

@klingsor may also quality.

 

[leetch99]

Thanks for sharing your story Bob . I remember heading to bed with my transistor radio and earphone in for the Ranger games back as early as 1970-71 living here in PEI Canada . I can't honestly remember the broadcast crew but I do remember Marv Albert ? back around then and Red Light later ? . I think it was 640 on the AM dial or right around there . It would ALWAYS fade out on me before the game would end and I would usually be asleep when it came back . I also remember listening to the Burger King commercials....I would drool about them burgers ....imagination is a wonderful thing . Those were great times to be a fan with the GAG line and Eddie G in the nets . I just recently turned 57 . Went to my first game at MSG back a couple of years ago after getting great tickets from Bob !!! Truly a small world . Hope to get my health fixed up soon and get back again . Take care....

 

[Cag29]

Phil Goyette (for the most part) took over for Ratelle when he was out injured centering the line between Gilbert and Hadfield. Rangers lines back then were pretty stable. The 71-72 season the lines were Ratelle/Gilbert/ Hadfield---Tkachuk/Fairbarin/Gene Carr (who came over early in the year from St. Louis--Chadwick use to say that Carr 'couldn't put the puck in the ocean if he were standing on the end of a pier'--I don't think Chadwick liked Carr's long blonde hair) Stemkowski/Bruce MacGregor/Ted Irvine--after that Bobby Rousseau (a nifty player who always played first unit on the power play from the point with Brad Park), Glen Sather, Goyette, Ron Stewart---both Sather and Stewart go on to briefly coach the Rangers and of course Slats was our GM for quite a while and now holds an executive position with the team. Stewart is also known for getting into a fight that led to the death of teammate Terry Sawchuk who he roomed with.

The defense pairs that year were--Park/Dal Rolfe--Rod Seiling/Jim Nielson and then Ab Demarco or Gary Doak. If I'm remember correctly you could only dress 17 skaters and 2 goalies back then. Goalies were Ed Giacomin and Gilles Villemure. Villemure use to relax over the summer by racing horses professionally.

Great info thank you.